Friday, February 25, 2011

The Chutzpah Files

I'm sure this is not the most original insight into the current austerity debate in Congress, but it's interesting to me that the Republican economic recovery plan insists on inflicting "painful" cuts, "belt-tightening" and "shared sacrifice" (thereby appearing as the mature, thoughtful adults willing to make the tough decisions on spending), yet the raison d'être of the GOP is to cut the marginal tax rates on the highest earners...

...Does it not seem odd to Republican voters that a particular class of Americans are exempt from our shared sacrifice in the name of the common good? Their argument seems to be: "hey, we realize how odious it looks to cut taxes on the wealthy, and we really wish we didn't have to keep funneling money to them, but it's the only way to make the US solvent again!" Does not pass the smell test.